October 2017

26 October 2017

New research from British Gas has highlighted that having no heating or hot water would be the number one disaster for households in Wales this winter. Even so, many people in Pembrokeshire have not taken action to ensure their homes are winter-ready. Despite the autumn chill, a national survey shows that more than a third of households (39%) in Wales have not checked that their central heating is working and four in ten have not prepared their home for winter by getting their boiler serviced.

That same research showed that only a third of people (33%) in Wales have checked that their carbon monoxide alarm is working and that whilst four in ten households in Wales acknowledge that technology could help their home to run more smoothly during winter, just under a third (32%) have smart meters.

25 October 2017

Local Assembly Member Paul Davies has joined the Wales Area manager of The Royal British Legion, veterans, serving personnel and other Assembly Members to race against the clock on an exercise bike to mark the Remembrance period in Wales and commemorate the Battle of Passchendaele 100 years ago. The 6 hour bike ride was held in the Senedd building, aiming to mark this very special year for Remembrance in Wales. Mr Davies represented Preseli Pembrokeshire by cycling as far as he could in 5 minutes and managed to cycle 1.25m in that timeframe.

The bike ride was organised by The Royal British Legion in Wales and builds on the successful bike ride held in the National Assembly in 2016. Members of Parliament will also undertake the same challenge next week along with members of the Scottish Parliament.

24 October 2017

Pembrokeshire Assembly Members Paul Davies and Angela Burns have recently met with Pembrokeshire Tourism to discuss their concerns over the Welsh Government’s plans to introduce a tourist tax in Wales. A tourist tax could result in visitors charged a separate, additional amount per night, similar to the taxes implemented in parts of mainland Europe.

Preseli Pembrokeshire Assembly Member Paul Davies said, “If the Welsh Government moves ahead with its tourist tax proposal, there will be a significant impact on businesses across Pembrokeshire. Tourism is strategically important to Pembrokeshire, with tourists bringing in almost £600m a year to the county and so any move to add an additional levy on the industry could result in an increase in the cost of holidays to Wales and would put Welsh tourist operators at a disadvantage to its UK counterparts”

Welsh Conservatives have again called on the Labour Government to use the powers at its disposal and extend the maximum sentence for animal cruelty following further pressure from RSPCA Cymru.

RSPCA Cymru has long campaigned for an increase to the maximum sentence available for those convicted of animal abuse and have warned Wales risks treating animal cruelty as a far less serious offence, compared to neighbouring England.

On Tuesday, in First Minister’s Questions, Welsh Conservatives called on the First Minister to act immediately and exercise devolved powers to replicate moves taken by the Conservatives and Michael Gove in England to increase the punishment for animal cruelty from six months imprisonment to five years. In response, Carwyn Jones, pledged to write to Andrew RT Davies outlining the steps his government would take.

20 October 2017

An event to celebrate and promote the marine energy sector in Wales was recently co-hosted by local Assembly Member Paul Davies. Mr Davies co-hosted the event with Assembly colleagues to discuss some of the sector’s latest and planned developments and to examine some of the challenges currently facing the sector.

Mr Davies said, “Pembrokeshire is an integral part in Wales’ marine energy sector and it was great to meet with the industry’s representatives to celebrate some of the recent developments in the local area. It’s an exciting time for the marine energy sector but we must continue to ensure that schemes that are developed in the future deliver significant benefits to the local community, in terms of the energy that they generate and also working with local businesses and supporting local supply chains. Of course, there’s always more that Governments can do to support the sector and I will continue to call on Governments at all levels to do more to engage with the sector and help Pembrokeshire’s marine energy industry reach its full potential.”

19 October 2017

Local AM Paul Davies is supporting a campaign for first aid education to be included as a life skill on the new school curriculum currently being developed in Wales. Earlier this year a mapping exercise was conducted by Wales’ three leading first aid educators – the British Red Cross, St John Cymru and the British Heart Foundation and its research showed that only 22.4% of pupils in Pembrokeshire have received first aid training in 2017.

Mr Davies said: “Learning first aid is a lifesaving skill and it’s so important that as many students as possible have the opportunity to learn basic first aid and how to support or help someone in need. Therefore, I’m happy to support such a wonderful campaign and I sincerely hope that the Welsh Government will consider putting first aid on the new school curriculum. It’s disappointing that only 22.4% of Pembrokeshire pupils have access to this training so far – these are skills that are beneficial to everyone and the sooner this training is put on the curriculum, the better prepared our children and young people will be.”

Local AM Paul Davies is opposing Welsh Government plans to introduce a tourist tax in Wales. The Welsh Government’s agreed budget statement with Plaid Cymru earlier this month included the proposal to consider a tax on tourists so that the revenue generated could be used to support the local industry and encourage jobs and growth in Wales.

Mr Davies said: “A tourist tax would be devastating for tourist operators across Pembrokeshire and could lead to a loss of trade and income for many local businesses. This proposal would also discourage people from visiting Wales and make the average family holiday much more expensive – leading to visitors seeking holidays elsewhere in the UK.”

05 October 2017

Local AM Paul Davies is urging all those eligible for the free influenza (flu) vaccine to protect themselves and those around them. Vaccination is the best protection against catching or spreading influenza, which is a debilitating and potentially deadly illness.

Mr Davies is joining calls being made by Public Health Wales urging those in at risk groups to make an appointment with their local GP or go to their community pharmacy and get the free flu vaccine soon. At risk groups include pregnant women, people with certain long-term illnesses, those aged 65 or over and carers. All children aged two to eight years are also being offered protection with a simple nasal spray flu vaccine – so no needle. Two and three year olds (age on 31 August 2017) will have their nasal spray vaccine at their GP surgery and children in reception class, year one, two, three and four in primary school will be offered their nasal spray vaccine at school.

04 October 2017

Local Assembly Member Paul Davies has recently visited a small hydro-electric power scheme in Pontfaen, North Pembrokeshire, to hear more about how the scheme can generate power for up to seventy houses. Mr Davies received a tour from owner, Harry Boggis-Rolfe, who explained some of the current challenges and opportunities presented by the scheme.

Mr Davies said, “It was a pleasure to visit the hydro-electric scheme and learn more about how that scheme is helping deliver power to seventy houses. Pembrokeshire is a prime location for renewable energy production and it’s important that small schemes such as this have the support that they need to generate power across the County. The geography of Pembrokeshire provides a strong base for hydropower schemes to flourish and it’s crucial that opportunities like this are fully developed. Hydroelectric power schemes are one of the greenest and cleanest alternative energy sources around and it’s important that Governments at all levels do all that they can to support and develop local renewable energy power schemes.”

02 October 2017

Local Assembly Member Paul Davies has recently attended a Macmillan coffee morning, hosted by Pembrokeshire Intermediate Voluntary Organisations Team (PIVOT) and Haverfordwest Red Cross Team. The coffee morning was a great opportunity to have a coffee and a chat whilst learning about the important work Red Cross is doing across the County.

Mr Davies said, “Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is a fantastic event that brings communities across Wales together and it was great be a part of that campaign by attending a local coffee morning hosted by the Red Cross team. One in three people will face cancer and it’s important that we all work together to support cancer patients from the very moment that they are diagnosed. Events like this coffee morning are an important way of raising awareness of cancer and the impact that it has on so many lives in Pembrokeshire.”